The East of England Ambulance Service’s quality account for 2013/14 is the first under chief executive Anthony Marsh after coming into post in January and focuses on cardiac and stroke care, among other areas.

Under NHS regulations, all organisations publish quality accounts to set out clinical priorities for the coming year as well as reflecting the past 12 months.

Dr Marsh said: “We want patients to be seen promptly and to be treated to high clinical standards in order to recover quickly.

“In the past year, great strides were made in clinical improvements including wound closure training for paramedics, a clinical record viewer to support our hear and treat clinicians, and recognition of our dementia pathways as best practice.

“I’d like to thank our staff for their hard work and support in developing and enhancing the skills of our frontline staff, and we look forward to a year of achieving better high-quality care for patients.”

EEAST is in the process of recruiting 400 student paramedics to help improve performance standards, along with improving the skills of emergency care assistants and emergency medical technicians.

More ambulances are also being put on the road in measures set out by its performance improvement plan.